[4evaabaggie]

Phil, I may be old fashioned but my great auntie floss's right nipple would get my support if it was the manager of my beloved Albion. Especially as we have got ourselves more points and a higher position than I expected at this time of the season. The old chums club worries me a little, but other signings, how much say did DM get.

[Blue Baggie]

Phil, I may be old fashioned but my great auntie floss's right nipple would get my support if it was the manager of my beloved Albion. Especially as we have got ourselves more points and a higher position than I expected at this time of the season. The old chums club worries me a little, but other signings, how much say did DM get.

I'm not sure about others, but i'm ready to move on. The play offs are assured which any of the 4 sides are capable of winning.
The worst  thing is they normally are settled by good tactics and determination. Both major weaknesses for us.

[Borders Baggie]

I have read all the recent comments on this thread with interest and there is one thing that never comes to the fore.
None of The Baggies opponents ever get any credit if they take a point or points.
If West Brom do have the best squad in the division ‘by a country mile’, are teams going to stand off and let them play?
That’s not how it works I’m afraid. Maybe Sheff Utd did shut up shop after scoring but surely they should get some plaudits for holding on for a win.
Yes, West Brom couldn’t break them down and it’s been a while since I’ve seen so many passes cut out. When Gayle got to the by line on the right late on, his cross was no where near a team mate, but there were plenty Blades defenders there. Maybe the opponents deserve some credit.

Big Dave has got the team in a better position than most expected and it was never going to be easy to go back up in what is traditionally a very tough league.
Leeds losing at QPR has put another slant on it too now. Let’s give the team the support and see where it ends.

[aries22]

Or we could just play 442, put our best players out and let the opposition worry about our set up or how we’re going to play, two banks of four with a midfield protecting the back four and turning defence into attack with two strikers who both have plenty of goals in them and will keep opposition defences on the back foot all game.

Yes 442 would also work as long as we have the right personnel in the midfield 4. Last season when Pardew played 442, the big problem we had with it was the midfield. Phillips and Brunt were too one dimensional and Livermore and Barry didn’t always offer enough.  

For us now, if we were to play Phillips on the right and Murphy/Montero on the left then that would give us proper forward players to join up with the two strikers. The big question mark would then be who to play in the middle. As above, Livermore and Barry don’t offer enough in a 442. Barry likes to sit in whilst Livermore likes to play slightly ahead but doesn’t offer enough on the ball to justify a starting place in the system. Harper and Barry could be a good choice because Harper does like to get up and down the pitch and does a better job than Livermore in the 8 role. I can’t see Moore dropping Livermore to make that work though.

I think something along the lines of the following could work at home as long as the strikers can get proper service and we don’t get overran in the middle like Pardew’s team used to:

Johnstone
Holgate - Dawson - Hegazi - Gibbs
Phillips - Harper - Barry - Murphy
Gayle - Rodriguez

Which brings us neatly back to last summer and early season when a few of us identified we needed to bolster our midfield, not just with loan players either, and, as you and several others have pointed out, we haven’t done that. Harvey Barnes’s boots have proved difficult to fill.

[aries22]

Or we could just play 442, put our best players out and let the opposition worry about our set up or how we’re going to play, two banks of four with a midfield protecting the back four and turning defence into attack with two strikers who both have plenty of goals in them and will keep opposition defences on the back foot all game.

Yes 442 would also work as long as we have the right personnel in the midfield 4. Last season when Pardew played 442, the big problem we had with it was the midfield. Phillips and Brunt were too one dimensional and Livermore and Barry didn’t always offer enough.  

For us now, if we were to play Phillips on the right and Murphy/Montero on the left then that would give us proper forward players to join up with the two strikers. The big question mark would then be who to play in the middle. As above, Livermore and Barry don’t offer enough in a 442. Barry likes to sit in whilst Livermore likes to play slightly ahead but doesn’t offer enough on the ball to justify a starting place in the system. Harper and Barry could be a good choice because Harper does like to get up and down the pitch and does a better job than Livermore in the 8 role. I can’t see Moore dropping Livermore to make that work though.

I think something along the lines of the following could work at home as long as the strikers can get proper service and we don’t get overran in the middle like Pardew’s team used to:

Johnstone
Holgate - Dawson - Hegazi - Gibbs
Phillips - Harper - Barry - Murphy
Gayle - Rodriguez

Which brings us neatly back to last summer and early season when a few of us identified we needed to bolster our midfield, not just with loan players either, and, as you and several others have pointed out, we haven’t done that. Harvey Barnes’s boots have proved difficult to fill.

[Zinman]

Or go 3 at the back at home (it worked up until Derby), push Gibbs wide left and Murphy behind the front 2. Easy to switch to 4 at the back if needed.

[BaggieSteve]

I have read all the recent comments on this thread with interest and there is one thing that never comes to the fore.
None of The Baggies opponents ever get any credit if they take a point or points.
If West Brom do have the best squad in the division ‘by a country mile’, are teams going to stand off and let them play?
That’s not how it works I’m afraid. Maybe Sheff Utd did shut up shop after scoring but surely they should get some plaudits for holding on for a win.
Yes, West Brom couldn’t break them down and it’s been a while since I’ve seen so many passes cut out. When Gayle got to the by line on the right late on, his cross was no where near a team mate, but there were plenty Blades defenders there. Maybe the opponents deserve some credit.

Big Dave has got the team in a better position than most expected and it was never going to be easy to go back up in what is traditionally a very tough league.
Leeds losing at QPR has put another slant on it too now. Let’s give the team the support and see where it ends.

I think that's a very fair point, we cannot assume that we will just steamroller the opposition, we do need to give credit where it's due. My concern is that this should be obvious to our management/coaching team, namely that sides will come to the Hawthorns and resolutely defend whilst catching us on the break (or being gifted a goal by our continued desire and undoubted inability to play from the back), yet, although we know this, every week there is no creativity or pace to break down such defending. Nothing changes and teams have worked us out at the Hawthorns. I've read elsewhere that some supporters are blaming this failure at win at home on the lack of encouragement from the fans; what a load of tosh! I'm sorry but I think this comes down to a failure to recognise that playing away and playing at home requires a change of approach and an adaption to the tactics of the opposition. I believe the blind optimism of Dave and Graham will cost us. I'm sure we'll make the play offs but I reckon that's our limit.

[Blue Baggie]

I have read all the recent comments on this thread with interest and there is one thing that never comes to the fore.
None of The Baggies opponents ever get any credit if they take a point or points.
If West Brom do have the best squad in the division ‘by a country mile’, are teams going to stand off and let them play?
That’s not how it works I’m afraid. Maybe Sheff Utd did shut up shop after scoring but surely they should get some plaudits for holding on for a win.
Yes, West Brom couldn’t break them down and it’s been a while since I’ve seen so many passes cut out. When Gayle got to the by line on the right late on, his cross was no where near a team mate, but there were plenty Blades defenders there. Maybe the opponents deserve some credit.

Big Dave has got the team in a better position than most expected and it was never going to be easy to go back up in what is traditionally a very tough league.
Leeds losing at QPR has put another slant on it too now. Let’s give the team the support and see where it ends.

I think that's a very fair point, we cannot assume that we will just steamroller the opposition, we do need to give credit where it's due. My concern is that this should be obvious to our management/coaching team, namely that sides will come to the Hawthorns and resolutely defend whilst catching us on the break (or being gifted a goal by our continued desire and undoubted inability to play from the back), yet, although we know this, every week there is no creativity or pace to break down such defending. Nothing changes and teams have worked us out at the Hawthorns. I've read elsewhere that some supporters are blaming this failure at win at home on the lack of encouragement from the fans; what a load of tosh! I'm sorry but I think this comes down to a failure to recognise that playing away and playing at home requires a change of approach and an adaption to the tactics of the opposition. I believe the blind optimism of Dave and Graham will cost us. I'm sure we'll make the play offs but I reckon that's our limit.

No question about it Darren has got the team higher then the majority expected (me included) From my own point on view his attempt on a quick return to the PL was wrong. The focus this season should have been on removing the dead wood and bringing the youngsters into the 1st team and a rebuild should have been undertaken. TBF he has done some of this, but spoilt it by signing old timers who directly restricted the youngster chances. If we get promotion I will accept he was correct with his management and I AM WRONG. However if we fail to go up, further culling of the stars and more new signings will be required. We have in reality only signed 4 players Bartley / Townsend / Johnstone / Bond. It's going to be really interesting to see who comes in to replace the big list of the players who will be leaving at the end of this season. The tactics and weaknesses I fully recognise can't be sorted at the drop of a hat. But this season should have used to establish the issues and working towards having a young vibrant team. I would have been very happy to finish outside the play offs if we were progressing. I'm not convinced the 3-5-2 or 4-3-3 have been the real issues either. Darren will be around for a while longer that's for sure, stability is to be admired if improvement is underway.